Remind101 - safe way to text with students and parents; one-way texting and phone numbers kept private; schedule later texts
Work from Class 1:
What is Web 2.0? Web 2.0 describes a set of internet technologies that are dynamic, social online platforms. These web-based applications are interactive social tools that encourage users to create, share, and collaborate through a variety of completely web-based devices. (Source: CBS News: What is Web 2.0?)
A wiki page would be extremely valuable for me to create a course page for each of my classes. On the course wiki, I could post a variety of information about the course and use it to encourage collaboration between myself and my students regarding the class. I could post a course syllabus, assignments, and daily lesson information with links to useful resources such as websites and videos for the topics we learn in class. I could also have students post certain assignments on the wiki and then collaborate and help each other on the wiki regarding the assignment. I think this would be especially valuable on an assignment my GT Algebra 2 students complete called a "Monthly Final Exam Review". Starting in November, each month my students are assigned these reviews, which have about 10 to 20 problems covering material we have learned throughout the year that students will eventually be assessed on at the end of the year on their cumulative final exam. Students often have trouble remembering the many topics we have covered throughout the year, so I always encourage them to help each other on these reviews and to use any resources they can. A wiki page for these assignments would be a great tool to encourage students to collaborate and help each other on these assignments and to also post useful links to resources that might help them. I could possibly even require students to post at least once regarding each Monthly Review; whether it be a question they have or helping another student with their questions. One possible concern I have regarding this is how students would type math problems on a wiki and whether wikis are able to use some sort of Math Type or Equation Editor.
How do I plan to use TodaysMeet in my classroom?
TodaysMeet could be used in my classroom in a variety of ways. Currently in my classroom I only have one computer; therefore my options for utilizing TodaysMeet on a daily basis are somewhat limited. Computer lab availability in my school is is also pretty limited; we only have two labs for our almost 1,600 student population, and these labs get completely booked up very quickly (and we are only permitted to reserve the lab twice per month).
Ideally if I had computers available to every student on a daily basis, I would love to use TodaysMeet as a lesson starter. In my GT Algebra 2 classes, I often assign students to read the lesson in the textbook the night before we learn about a new topic in class. TodaysMeet would be a great tool for me to use at the start of class to spark a conversation between the students about what they read and learned from the reading before beginning the lesson. Similarly, TodaysMeet would also be an excellent tool at the start of a lesson to anonymously assess students prior knowledge on a concept. I could ask "tell me what you know about..." and students, joined with a anonymous name, could share their knowledge without feeling pressure of being "right or wrong". Finally, TodaysMeet could be used in a similar fashion as a review or wrap-up at the end of a lesson to provide immediate feedback on student mastery of the lesson.
Realistically, I am currently limited to using TodaysMeet on my one classroom computer (besides an occassional visit to the computer lab). One way I plan to utilize TodaysMeet in my current classroom is through afterschool help sessions. I could set up a date and time afterschool for students to join a TodaysMeet to get help on a topic or assignment. It would be like tutoring in the comfort of my own home (and their own home too!). Although I do not know if I am ready to commit to doing this on a weekly basis yet, I think it would be extremely useful on a particular assignment that I currently do with my students. After each Unit Test, I allow my students to complete test corrections on the problems they got wrong on the test in order to receive half credit back. They have to show all work to get the correct answer and explain what they initially did wrong. Not only does this improve their grade, but it also helps students to revisit and better understand the topics they initially struggled with! Students often need assistance in completing these test corrections, so I could offer an afterschool TodaysMeet help session specifically for corrections help after each Unit Test. When returning the tests, I could hand out a slip of paper with the test which would contain the TodaysMeet time/date, directions, and url. If students would prefer to be anonymous, I could also include an assigned name or number for them to use to join so I would know who they were during the session. After trying this out for the first few sessions and finding it goes smoothly, I could even ask some strong students that "aced" the test to join the TodaysMeet as tutors and offer them extra credit and service learning hours. They could also join anonymously using an assigned name or number I provide them with so they would feel less vulnerable helping others. At the end of the session, I could print and copy the transcript to distribute to the students the next day in class. My main concern with this is how students would type math questions into the TodaysMeet forum and if it allows for some sort of Math Type or Equation Editor.
Wordle could be used in my classroom in a variety of ways. At the beginning of the school year, I could have students create a "getting to know you" Wordle about themselves as an introduction to myself and the class. I could have students post their personal Wordle on the blog to share with the class. A Wordle would also be a great way to display vocabulary words for each unit. At the beginning of a unit, I could create and give the students a Wordle with the just the vocab words, without definitions. I could assign the students to create their own Wordle by the end of the unit, adding in definitions with the vocab words (I would probably also ask the students to send me the text they entered in creating their Wordle in order to grade their definitions). I would also really like to use Tagxedo at the beginning of the school year with my students next year to create an operations word wall. We could review the common operations (addition, subtraction, etc...) and create a list of words and expressions used to indicate each of these operations. We could then create a Tagxedo for each operation - in the shape of the operation symbol! I can then print it and display it on a bulletin board in my classroom. I have seen one of these in a classroom before, and thought it was so cool! This would be a great first/second day of school activity or before starting writing, evaluating, or solving expressions and equations.
Here is the data summarizing the results: Google Doc Data Results. Click on the tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet to see directions for creating the survey, the answer key, the overall results, student entries, results by student, and results analysis by question. To create this, I used a template I found in the Google docs template gallery. So cool! I offered it to my students as an extra credit assignment by placing a link to the assignment in Edline (our school web resource) and gave students three nights to complete it. I had over 20 students complete it!
The video about the Men's 100-Meter Freestyle Medalists would be a great opportunity to determine average rate of change (slope) of finishing times between medalists/Olympic years . After graphing different medalists/Olympic years and the finishing times on a scatter plot (Olympic year versus time in seconds), students could find the average rate of change (using the slope formula) of times between different medalists/Olympic years. Students could analyze how consistent or constant the rate of change stayed and in what time frames it decreased the most/least. Students could discuss real world factors, such as advances in technology and training, that influenced these differing rates of change. In the video, it mentions that since the 1950s, the average rate of change has been a decrease of about 1 second every 8 years. Students could verify this number and use it to extend the data to see when the 45 second time could be broken if the Olympic times continue to decrease at this rate in the future.
Using either the Men's 100-Meter Freestyle Medalists data (after completing the lesson above) or the Men's 100-Meter Dash Medalists data, a lesson could be built on creating scatter plots and finding a linear regression equation to model data. Students could create a scatter plot using the data (Olympic year versus time in seconds) and use a graphing calculator (or web tool or app) to find the linear regression equation. The slope and y-intercept could be discussed in the context of the problem and analyzed in comparison to the actual data. Students could see how accurate their linear regression equation is by evaluating their equation for different years or times in the data table and comparing it to the actual Olympic record. So how fast was Usain Bolt's time? The students could use their linear regression equation to determine how fast Usain Bolt should have finished based of their equation and how this compares to his actual time. They could then use their equation to predict future Olympic record times and the limitations of linear regression models could be discussed (could it really continue to decrease at this rate? what will eventually happen?).
A lesson could be built around the Men's Long Jump video on creating and analyzing box and whisker plots. Students could use the men's record long jump distances to find a five-number summary and to create a box and whisker plot (using a graphing calculator, web tool, or app). The five-number summary values could be analyzed and interpreted and used to answer more questions, such as "what percent of the men jumped farther than feet?" or "how many Olympians jumped farther than feet?". Real world factors affecting times could be discussed (such as wind, runner's sprinting capabilities, technology advances, etc.) and possible outliers could be found and discussed. What about Women's Long Jump medalists??? As an extension, students could then be given the data for the Women's Long Jump record distances and could use this data to create a parallel box and whisker plot with the Men's data. The Women's data could be analyzed and interpreted, and then the two sets of data and box and whisker plots could be compared and analyzed and many questions could be presented to compare and contrast the records between the men and women.
2.b. My Video Lessons:
A video showing a plethora of data about the 2014 Superbowl could be used as an introduction to a unit/lesson on probability or statistics. This video has a ton of cool statistics about the 2014 Superbowl that would definitely captivate the interest of students! Since so many of the students watch the Superbowl, I think the video would really get them thinking about how statistics and probability are involved in so many components of the game. After watching the video (possibly a couple times!), the students could share what statistics they found most intriguing. We could discuss how these statistics are used to make future predictions about football and the Superbowl and how probability plays a role in many of these statistics. A lesson on finding simple probability could then be initiating using data from the video. The students could discuss how to express probability in different forms (30% of the stadium was empty at the first Superbowl, 9 of 10 most watched U.S. event, etc) and find simple probability using the minutes spent watching different parts of the Superbowl. I found this video really captivating and overall it really emphasizes how important numbers are in sports!
Another video I found is about the incredible Wingspan of Rajon Rondo, an NBA basketball player, and how this helps him elevate his game. I found this video on ESPN's Sport Science Youtube channel, where I find a lot of motivating videos for my Math 8 class (which has 15 athletic boys and only 4 girls in it!). This video could be used to introduce the concept of "wingspan" to the students and to motivate them before having them create a scatter plot comparing their heights and wingspans. I have used this activity in my Math 8 class and they thoroughly enjoyed it! The video would definitely be an extra motivator. I could use the video to discuss how Rajon's wingspan helps improve his game and where else in sports or the real world a long wingspan might be beneficial. I could also use the video as an opportunity to discuss the golden ratio with them. Then we could actually measure and record the height and wingspan of each student in the class and use this information to create a class scatter plot. The correlation of the scatter plot could be analyzed and many interpretation questions can be discussed. I could then have the students plot Rajon's data with theirs and use this to talk about outliers.
The third video I found interesting and engaging was about the decrease in the Bee Population in California last year. This video could be used to engage students in a lesson on how to determine the average rate of change (slope). After watching the video, students could be instructed on how to determine the average rate of change of bees over time (in years). Students could analyze how consistent or constant the rate of change stayed and in what time frames it decreased the most/least. Students could discuss real world factors, such as the "Colony Collapse Disorder", pesticides, or environmental factors, that influenced these differing rates of change. Students could use the average rate of change to possibly make future predictions for what will happen with the bee population this year. This discussion could also be used to discuss other animal populations and how they change each year, such as Maryland blue crabs.
I use Khan Academy all the time in my classroom! I feel the website is very clean and easy to use to find any skill based on topic (for both teachers and students). I love how detailed and informational his lessons are and how he infuses his own "personality" into the insight he provides, although he can get a little sloppy with his writing sometimes! I like how Khan Academy now includes practice problems with many of the lessons and students can track their progress through videos and practice problems they have completed. I often show Khan Academy videos to my students in class as an introduction to a topic or to provide more insight into a topic. I also encourage my students to watch Khan Academy lessons at home.
I had never heard of LearnZillion before checking it out this week. The first thing I noticed was how strongly it was aligned with the Common Core and how lessons were organized based on Common Core objectives. I think this is an awesome resource for teachers to easily find lessons aligned with the curriculum, but maybe not as "clear cut" for students to navigate on their own. I also found the organization of the lessons into small folders a little hard to navigate. Once I viewed some videos, I really liked how neat and professional the videos were and how they were very easy for students to understand (whereas Khan can get a little wordy and confusing at times!). I was frustrated that I had to register in order to watch more than one video, yet once I registered I realized all the resources this unlocked! I love how with each lesson video you could download and print the lesson slides as a word document, and their was additional practice videos and coach commentary to help with the topic. Again, I think this website is an extremely useful website geared more towards teacher/classroom use and less for student independent use or for anyone just looking to catch a little more information on a math topic. Very nice resource though!
Web 2.0 Tools Project Resources:
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Possible Web 2.0 Tools for Project:
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